IGX

Tyson was the man. Terribly dangerous, terrible person. Chance of a legacy as a top 10 ten of all time Cut from the same block as Dempsey, easily one of the best swarmers, and an underrated defense. He probably threw away more potential than we will ever know.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lmd3F9_tkQ[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYZzMPsm6c4[/youtube]

Those days are gone and Tyson probably isn't a new man...but he's trying...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua5XpcCQvuI[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNRfti4BIic[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQFtYyu581E[/youtube]

There are no second acts.

He was the best heavyweight ever IMO.

His legacy was tainted by bad shit, not prepping for fights and losing to Buster Douglas, but in his prime he was unstoppable.

Jay wrote: not prepping for fights and losing to Buster Douglas

not prepping for fight is commomn excuse. As i read somewhere Douglas showed what would look like fight Ali vs Tyson :)

Tyson's normal knockout was a Marquez style blunderbuss punch.

Defensive skills honed with the slip bag. A underutilized tool for training to break your rhythm while training your defensive skills. Being able to break/change your rhythm and not allow your opponent to time you is the key to good defensive skills.


Tyson was taught how to punch old school; he personifies whole body punching. Just looking at his body shots hurts. A lot of his knock outs came off off a simple one, two to the body and then then a shot to the head combo. Having Iron Mike rearrange their insides kind of made his opponents forget about keeping their hands up.

I didn't understand why he proclaimed himself the heir to Liston and Dempsey...until I went back and watched Liston and Dempsey. A lot of ridicule hurled Mike' way but despite his delivery he's a better student of the sport than nearly everyone in his generation.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KitWepuW2Qk[/youtube]

Jay wrote:He was the best heavyweight ever IMO.

His legacy was tainted by bad shit, not prepping for fights and losing to Buster Douglas, but in his prime he was unstoppable.

Congratulations, that's the dumbest fucking post of the year.

Tyson wasn't even in the top 10 HW of all time.

I think it was right before his HOF induction that he even said he didn't belong in the top 10.

#1 Ali, there is no real discussion.

The rest get murkier, but in no particular order:
Tunney
Dempsey
Louis
Johnson
Frazier
Foreman
Lennox Lewis
Holmes
Marciano
Either Klitschko
Holyfield

Counting both Klitschkos, that's 12 more fighters who have more right to be in the top 10 than Iron Mike... All based on what they got done in their careers, not what they could have done. I'm not sure about Tunney, but I think the only fighters on that list that didn't assume the HW lineage are Frazier and V. Klitschko, but I'm a little hazy on the succession of the lineage at HW. Maybe Frazier did establish the lineage after beating Ali... can't remember.

Potential wise, Tyson may have worked towards the best, but it's ignorant to say he was the best HW. His best win was... I think probably Spinks or a geriatric Larry Holmes who shouldn't have been fighting.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYMgZg28Wos[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNEoa-ndSVE[/youtube]

Blaidd Drwg wrote:I didn't understand why he proclaimed himself the heir to Liston and Dempsey...until I went back and watched Liston and Dempsey. A lot of ridicule hurled Mike' way but despite his delivery he's a better student of the sport than nearly everyone in his generation.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KitWepuW2Qk[/youtube]

Yes.

Also big agreement with BB.

He called in to the Adam Carolla podcast a couple of episodes ago. It was pretty good.

I wonder how he would have done if Cuss Amato hadn't died?

Holeyfraggaroley wrote:I wonder how he would have done if Cuss Amato hadn't died?

He wouldn't have had all of his money stolen by Don King.

Holeyfraggaroley wrote:I wonder how he would have done if Cuss Amato hadn't died?

He still would have lost his shit, but hopefully after he was done fighting.

Tyson's life was so fucked up that I think he was destined to be a loon. He seems to have found a little peace. Or a nice balance to his tranquilizers and anti-depressants.

baffled wrote:
He still would have lost his shit, but hopefully after he was done fighting.

Tyson's life was so fucked up that I think he was destined to be a loon. He seems to have found a little peace. Or a nice balance to his tranquilizers and anti-depressants.

He straight up says that he just wasn't prepared for his success on the Carolla podcast.

Ed Zachary wrote:

baffled wrote:
He still would have lost his shit, but hopefully after he was done fighting.

Tyson's life was so fucked up that I think he was destined to be a loon. He seems to have found a little peace. Or a nice balance to his tranquilizers and anti-depressants.

He straight up says that he just wasn't prepared for his success on the Carolla podcast.

I think I remember him saying that in other interviews.

To be honest, he always struck me as emotionally stunted more than anything. Still dangerous as hell, but not like a sociopathic criminal. Like a little kid who never figured out how to use his words.

Well, except for the face tattoo and wanting to eat Lennox Lewis' children. That was nuts.

baffled wrote:

Jay wrote:He was the best heavyweight ever IMO.

His legacy was tainted by bad shit, not prepping for fights and losing to Buster Douglas, but in his prime he was unstoppable.

Congratulations, that's the dumbest fucking post of the year.

Tyson wasn't even in the top 10 HW of all time.

I think it was right before his HOF induction that he even said he didn't belong in the top 10.

#1 Ali, there is no real discussion.

The rest get murkier, but in no particular order:
Tunney
Dempsey
Louis
Johnson
Frazier
Foreman
Lennox Lewis
Holmes
Marciano
Either Klitschko
Holyfield

Counting both Klitschkos, that's 12 more fighters who have more right to be in the top 10 than Iron Mike... All based on what they got done in their careers, not what they could have done. I'm not sure about Tunney, but I think the only fighters on that list that didn't assume the HW lineage are Frazier and V. Klitschko, but I'm a little hazy on the succession of the lineage at HW. Maybe Frazier did establish the lineage after beating Ali... can't remember.

Potential wise, Tyson may have worked towards the best, but it's ignorant to say he was the best HW. His best win was... I think probably Spinks or a geriatric Larry Holmes who shouldn't have been fighting.

Are we talking HW only?

Fat Cat wrote:

baffled wrote:

Jay wrote:He was the best heavyweight ever IMO.

His legacy was tainted by bad shit, not prepping for fights and losing to Buster Douglas, but in his prime he was unstoppable.

Congratulations, that's the dumbest fucking post of the year.

Tyson wasn't even in the top 10 HW of all time.

I think it was right before his HOF induction that he even said he didn't belong in the top 10.

#1 Ali, there is no real discussion.

The rest get murkier, but in no particular order:
Tunney
Dempsey
Louis
Johnson
Frazier
Foreman
Lennox Lewis
Holmes
Marciano
Either Klitschko
Holyfield

Counting both Klitschkos, that's 12 more fighters who have more right to be in the top 10 than Iron Mike... All based on what they got done in their careers, not what they could have done. I'm not sure about Tunney, but I think the only fighters on that list that didn't assume the HW lineage are Frazier and V. Klitschko, but I'm a little hazy on the succession of the lineage at HW. Maybe Frazier did establish the lineage after beating Ali... can't remember.

Potential wise, Tyson may have worked towards the best, but it's ignorant to say he was the best HW. His best win was... I think probably Spinks or a geriatric Larry Holmes who shouldn't have been fighting.

Are we talking HW only?

I am. I don't know about the rest of these faggots.

Cuz it started out top 10 of all time. In which case your list is shit.

Fat Cat wrote:Cuz it started out top 10 of all time. In which case your list is shit.

Agreed. I was picking on Jay's assertion of being the #1 HW ever.

P4P all time usually includes something like

The One And Only Sugar Ray Robinson
Ali
Greb
Pep
Dempsey
Jack Johnson
Maybe Benny Leonard
Henry Armstrong
Could throw in guys like Ray Leonard and/or Duran
Salvador Sanchez is usually an honorable mention since he may have been the best FW ever, even though he died at like 23
I don't know why, but you sometimes see Marciano and Lamotta on these lists.

I really just think that if we're going all time, p4p, that Tyson isn't anywhere near the top 50 in terms of what he actually did. Potential, sure. Career... nuh-uh

edit:
I would actually place Armstrong at #2 and may rank Ali from #3 to #6, but I'd have to put more thought into it.

well alright now you're talking sense

I just feel the need to take people to task when they declare Tyson to be the best ever at anything other than being a cautionary tale.

Short heavyweights don't age well. His game was based a lot on speed so he was destined to fade as his quickness did. See how the only other hw champ under Cus was Floyd Patterson - also a speedy guy, former middle weight at the amatuer level.
Tyson got beat up by a smallish Holyfield as well.
At his peak though I think Tyson is a nasty problem for anyone in the ring.

This thread is like deja vu all over again.

I still think that Tyson in his prime was the best heavyweight ever. Got complacent and lost to Buster and then it was all downhill from there. He put everything into his punches and got away with it because of his speed. All of his opponents were taller and it didn't matter because he got inside and dismantled them so fast it was ridiculous. I never get sick of seeing his highlight reels.